Mystic Harbor Management Commission

First - updated speed/no wake regulations will be in effect for the 2012 boating season.

Second - there will be additional markers in the East Fairway entrance at the mouth of the river.

Third - the buoys in the transient anchorage area in Mystic Harbor will be changed to better identify the fairway closer to Masons Island.

New speed/no wake regulations have been passed by the Connecticut state legislature for the Mystic River and will be implemented beginning in 2012. The new slow /no wake zone with its 6 MPH restriction consists of two specific areas.

Area 1 is located between the entrance to the Mystic Harbor and Red Navigation Buoy No.22. The entrance to Mystic Harbor is defined in detail in the Connecticut Boaters Guide as a line beginning at the southernmost tip of Mouse Island along the north shore of Ram Island to the southernmost tip of Mason Point.

Area 2 extends from Red Navigation Buoy "26" northward to Green Navigation Buoy "53". These areas will be marked with floating signs provided by the DEEP. The area between Navigational Buoy "22" to Navigational Buoy "26" maintains the original no wake designation with speed restrictions within the proximity of other boats and docks.

The intent is to allow local businesses to perform trial runs for engine maintenance purposes. The Harbor Master and Local Police will still enforce issues of safety and damaging wakes in this area.

The East Fairway was established by the Mystic Harbor Management Plan in May 1995. It provides an alternate route in and out of the river for small craft. It was marked for the first time in 2011 to relieve the ever increasing congestion of the federal channel adjacent to the village of Noank.

Three green markers were placed as close to their authorized station as possible but took into consideration the existing moorings in the area. Two additional red buoys will be added this coming season. An attempt to free this area of moorings by attrition has been ongoing since 1995.

Efforts are underway to identify abandoned and unauthorized moorings for removal. Final implementation of the designated fairway may require the repositioning of several moorings. When a final balance of all factors for the location of the fairway and the installation of the markers is in place, the documentation will be finalized.

8/1/2015 - Please Be Advised that the depth in the East Fairway can be as shallow as two (2) feet in some places at low tide. Use caution when using this passage.

The transient anchorage area in Mystic Harbor, designated as T-2 in the Mystic Harbor Management Plan, was first marked in 1998 with four white commercial anchorage buoys. This area is north of the east - west fairway for boats transiting to the marinas in the general vicinity of the Mystic YMCA on the eastern side of the river.

Some boaters have been confused as to which is the anchorage and which is the fairway. This has resulted in some boats transiting through the anchorage. Therefore, the two southernmost anchorage buoys will be replaced with two green buoys for the 2012 season.

This follows the rules-of-the-road convention of having green markers on the right when leaving a harbor. The fairway was designated in the slightly deeper water adjacent to the north shore of Masons Island.